2020 Hyundai Venue Review

　　

2020 Hyundai Venue Review

byReese CountsVehicle Test Editor

　　Reese Counts has worked in the automotive industry since he started as an intern at zzdcar in 2015. He has written or edited thousands of car-related articles and tested and reviewed hundreds of vehicles over the course of his career. Reese is a vehicle test editor at zzdcar and has also contributed to Autoblog. Reese has also been featured on Yahoo! Finance, Engadget and AOL reviewing cars and covering automotive technology, auto shows and more. Reese learned to drive in his father's C4 Chevrolet Corvette and now owns his grandfather's 1999 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG. A love for cars runs deep in his family.

　　Hyundai takes the subcompact SUV to new dimensions — tinier dimensions, that is — with the new 2020 Venue. It serves as the bookend for the small side of the brand's SUV lineup. It's dwarfed by the already diminutive Hyundai Kona, measuring a full 5 inches shorter, but it still technically seats up to five passengers. Even so, calling the Venue a true SUV requires a certain linguistic flexibility. Instead, the Venue represents an increasing number of vehicles that combine crossover styling with the stance and handling abilities of a traditional hatchback.

　　Under the hood of the Venue sits a four-cylinder good for 121 horsepower. That's not a whole lot of power for a modern car, but it's enough to get the Venue zipping up on freeway onramps without too much trouble.

　　Hyundai pairs the engine to a continuously variable automatic transmission or a six-speed manual transmission. The latter is a rare offering in this class of vehicle and helps make the Venue a little more fun to drive. All Venues are front-wheel-drive with no option for all-wheel drive, though Hyundai says using the Snow driving mode can help keep power on the ground when the road is slippery.

　　Overall, we're pleased with how the Venue turned out. You can read more about it in our Expert Review.

　　zzdcar Expert Rating

　　Our VerdictThe zzdcar Vehicle Testing Team evaluates a fresh batch of vehicles every week, pairing objective assessments at our test track with real-world driving on city streets, freeways and winding roads. The data we gather results in our Expert Ratings. They’re based on 30-plus scores that cover every aspect of the automotive experience.

　　Average

　　7.4

　　out of 10

　　zzdcar TESTED

　　Rated for you by America's best test team.

　　

Performance

7.0/10

　　How does the Venue drive? From a behind the wheel, the Venue is perfectly adequate across the board. You'll have no issue commuting, running errands, or taking a cruise to the beach or lake. Acceleration is about average for this class, which is not fast by most accounts. At our test track the Venue needed 9.4 seconds to get up to 60 mph.

　　But it's good where it counts for a small city runabout, responding quickly right off the line, with its CVT automatic and easy brakes providing a pretty smooth driving experience overall. It's definitely not an athletic SUV, but its small size keeps it nimble and kind of fun to zip around corners.

　　

Comfort

7.0/10

　　How comfortable is the Venue? You might assume based on its small size and low cost of entry that the Venue lacks comfort. Thankfully that's not the case. It's far from a luxurious experience, but the Venue fares well even compared with some larger rivals in its class. The front seats have a nice balance of cushion and support. The rear bench cushion is a bit flat, but there's a good recline to the backrest. Ride comfort can be tricky to maintain in smaller vehicles, but the Venue's is good enough to not beat you up even on longer trips.

　　The climate control is single-zone only, which makes sense given the Venue's size, and we found it sufficient for keeping the cabin cool. There is some wind and road noise at highway speeds, but nothing out of the ordinary for this class.

　　

Interior

7.5/10

　　How’s the interior? The Venue's interior is practical and passenger space is better than expected given its short length. It achieves this relative spaciousness through its upright seating. As long as you're not much taller than 6 feet, you should find the Venue relatively accommodating in front and cozy but livable in back. The squared-off doors make it also pretty easy to get in and out of.

　　The simplicity of the Venue keeps it easy to use. The 8-inch touchscreen infotainment screen is bright, responsive and easy to use. All other controls, buttons and knobs are clearly labeled and arranged logically. Forward and side visibility is pretty good, but your over-the-shoulder view is hampered somewhat by the thick rear roof pillars. The available blind-spot monitoring system certainly helps alleviate this issue when switching lanes.

　　

Technology

7.5/10

　　How’s the tech? The Venue has just the right amount of technology, and it's easy and straightforward to use. The available six-speaker sound system produces surprisingly good sound that's clear and has a nice amount of punch. The 8-inch touchscreen infotainment/navigation system comes standard with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration. The navigation system is very reminiscent of today's smartphones in look and feel, and real-time traffic information is a nice-to-have.

　　The advanced safety and driver aids work but seem a bit oversensitive. It's worth noting that adaptive cruise is not offered on the Venue in case that's an important feature on your list.

　　

Storage

7.0/10

　　How’s the storage? The Venue is small, so there's only so much you can physically fit inside. We think it makes excellent use of the space it does have, however. There's 18.7 cubic feet behind the rear seats (31.9 cubic feet with rear seats folded), which we found sufficient for everyday use.

　　The cargo area offers a couple of cool things: an adjustable load floor and a stowable cargo cover. The loading area has a wide opening and is easy to get things into due to the low load height. Up front, there's a sufficient amount of storage space for your personal items. As for child duty, the Venue's car seat anchor points are clearly marked on the seatback and easy to access. But the lack of rear legroom will make it hard to fit a larger rear-facing seat.

　　

Fuel Economy

7.5/10

　　How’s the fuel economy? The EPA estimates the Venue's fuel economy at 32 mpg combined (30 city/34 highway), a pretty efficient estimate for this class. But we found it tough to match that in our real-world driving. On our highway-heavy 115-mile evaluation route, we averaged a mere 29 mpg. Perhaps it's due to our need to keep up with the flow of California traffic, but we suspect the EPA figures are a bit optimistic for a Venue roaming in the wild.

　　

Value

8.5/10

　　Is the Venue a good value? Good value? No. We'd call this an excellent value. The Venue is well built and relatively practical. For what you pay, Hyundai packs in a lot of features. Some vehicles start where the Venue tops out on price and don't have the same amount of tech.

　　Hyundai's warranty is best-in-class. It includes a five-year/60,000 bumper-to-bumper and 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranties. Roadside assistance is provided for five years with no mileage limit, and all Hyundais now come with free scheduled maintenance for three years/36,000 miles.

　　

Wildcard

7.0/10

　　Is it fun to drive? Not really. The Venue is very utilitarian and that seems to be the core focus. The styling of the Venue is also rather nondescript, blending into the sea of subcompact SUVs. If you want something more distinctive, look elsewhere, at perhaps Mazda's CX-30 or even Kia's Soul or Seltos.

　　

Which Venue does zzdcar recommend?

The base SE offers a good number of features for relatively little money, but we recommend stepping up to the midgrade Venue SEL for a little bit more. It adds features such as automatic climate control and an upgraded sound system that make the Venue a little more comfortable and useful to drive.

　　

2020 Hyundai Venue models

The 2020 Venue is the most affordable SUV in Hyundai's already value-oriented lineup. It comes in three trim levels: SE, SEL and the stylish Denim trim. Highlight features include:

　　SE

　　Starts you off with:

　　121-hp four-cylinder engine Front-wheel drive Automatic headlights 15-inch steel wheels 8-inch touchscreen display Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration Four-speaker sound system Automatic emergency braking (warns if a front impact is imminent and applies the brakes if the driver doesn't respond in time) Lane keeping assist (steers the car back into its lane if it begins to drift over the lane marker)SEL

　　The midtier SEL includes the SE features and adds:

　　15-inch alloy wheels Armrest storage box Automatic climate control Additional USB port Six-speaker audio system Snow drive modeTwo optional packages are available on the SEL:

　　Convenience package:

　　Sunroof Sliding armrest Leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob Blind-spot monitoring (alerts you if a vehicle in the next lane over is in your blind spot) Rear cross-traffic alert (warns you if a vehicle behind you is about to cross your vehicle's path while in reverse)Premium package:

　　LED headlights Heated front seats 17-inch alloy wheels Keyless entry and push-button start Hyundai's Bluelink Connected Car systemDenim

　　The Denim trim includes almost all of the above. It also has:

　　Two-tone blue and white paint (the only available color) Simulated leather seating

　　

2020 Venue Highlights

Trim: SESELDenimSE

　　

Base MSRP	$17,350
Engine Type	Gas
Combined MPG	30 MPG
Cost to Drive	$124/month
Seating	5 seats
Cargo Capacity All Seats In Place	18.7 cu.ft.
Drivetrain	front wheel drive
Warranty	5 years / 60,000 miles